Museum and Classical Studies

Museum and classical studies is a combination that brings together the practice and theory of museums with the study of the ancient Mediterranean world. Museums are not simply places where objects are stored: they are institutions that make decisions about what is worth preserving, whose stories are told, and how the past is made meaningful for contemporary audiences. Classical studies, with its focus on the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome, provides an exceptionally rich body of material for understanding how museum collections are formed, how ancient cultures are represented, and what is at stake in how we interpret the distant past.

At the University of Reading, this three-year, full-time programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and a work placement, making it particularly well connected to the professional practice of museums and heritage. The placement gives you direct experience of working in a museum, archive, or heritage organisation, which is invaluable for understanding how the academic knowledge you develop applies in practice. The year abroad adds an international dimension, exposing you to how other countries approach museums, classical heritage, and the ethics of collecting and display.

Reading has strong collections and connections in both classical studies and museum and heritage work. Across the programme you will engage with ancient history, classical literature, and archaeology alongside museum theory, collection management, exhibition design, and the ethics of repatriation and representation. A typical entry tariff of 120 UCAS points indicates the entry expectations.

The degree develops both deep subject knowledge and professional skills in a combination that employers in the museum and heritage sector particularly value.

Graduates work in museums, galleries, archives, heritage organisations, and arts education. Many proceed to postgraduate study in museum studies, classical archaeology, or heritage management.